IMF okays emergency aid to Lanka, Maldives
Reuters, Washington
The International Monetary Fund approved immediate emergency funds for Sri Lanka and the Maldives in the wake of last December's tsunami.The IMF board said in separate announcements that it agreed to disburse $157.5 million to Sri Lanka and $6.3 million to the Maldives to help the South Asian nations recover from the Dec. 26 natural disaster. The IMF said replacing Sri Lanka's damaged infrastructure would cost between $1.5 billion and $1.6 billion, or 7.5 per cent of the country's gross domestic product. In the Maldives island chain, the fund estimated total reconstruction costs at almost 50 per cent of GDP.
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